Had a nice day today. Slept in this morning. Finished cluttering up the garage with my boxes, and returned dad's boxes to their proper storage places. Verdict: I'll have a garage sale when I get back from the trip. At about 3:15, mom and I drove up to Pasadena. First stop was the Caltech Fellowships Office (closed), where I dropped off a book about the Peace Corp that I had ordered (then changed plans!). We swung over to the Laemmle Theatre and bought two tickets for the 7:15 showing of Together, and shopped through Vroman's Bookstore next door. Just down the street on Fair Oaks, our dinner reservation at the Kingston Cafe was due at 5:30. Kingston being the capital of Jamaica, this place serves caribbean cuisine in a small bungalow atmosphere. Mom ordered the Jerk Chicken and I enjoyed the Kingston Glow, basically a curried goat dish. Both were spicy. I also recommend the lemonade, which is sweetened with brown sugar for, as my mom described it, the taste of "a cross between lemonade and a cinnamon roll." After the movie, we headed back to Brea.

It just happened that tonight was also the premiere at the Laemmle of Charlotte Sometimes, a film starring three Asian-American actors that the Angry Asian Man is officially endorsing. It's not the kind of movie you see with your mother, hence Together.

Back in Brea, Annie and I drove down to Borders at 11:30 PM to catch the release of another blockbuster... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was good to see the old comrades-in-arms again. They certainly had their work cut out for them: there must have been at least 500 people there, probably more, in line waiting for the stroke of midnight. We waited until the first people came out with their books and walked over to Krispy Kreme for a late night treat.

Good day!

Oh, and almost forgot to mention that we got a call from Aaron. He's coming home tomorrow at 3:30 PM, so we're one backpack away from "ready to go". Follow along in the trip weblog.